VENERABLE
Brethren and Well-Beloved Sons and Daughters, greetings and Apostolic
Blessings on this Ash Wednesday, in the year of our Lord 2013. It is
with extreme sadness that we learned two days ago of the resignation
of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, to be effective on the twenty-eighth
of this month. We remember His Holiness's kindness to us, and most
of all we remember his strength of character and leadership even in
the face of great opposition and troubled times. We wish the Holy
Father peace and happiness in his retirement.

As
we begin again the Lenten journey we are reminded that the
penitential acts we perform are for preparation for the joys that are
to come at the Paschal Feast. The Lenten penance must be inward
rather than outward, and all outwardly visible acts and signs must
represent something internal. Lent, as we are fond of saying, is a
time not of sorrow but of great joy. It is during this time that we
work to remove our dependence on the world and strive to make
ourselves wholly dependent upon Christ. Through this annual process
of renewal, we may hope to make ourselves live as better Chris-tians
throughout the remainder of the year, placing God first in all
things, and making God the center of all that we do.

As
Christians we are obligated to live a Christ-centered life. There can
be no wall between our spiritual life and any other aspect of our
lives if we are to call ourselves truly Christian. This is equally
true of government and public life. Separation of Church and State
has never meant that people can, should, or must abandon their faith
at the door of the statehouse or the voting booth. The Church, as the
ultimate moral authority, has both a right and a duty to speak out
against injustice in the public sphere and to work for the good and
for the rights of all mankind. Chief among these sacred spiritual
du-ties is the protection of the sanctity of life. All other rights
necessarily assume life, and therefore all other rights are
completely depend-ent upon the right to life. We still find our
society locked in a battle of good versus evil; of a culture of life
versus a culture of death; of a society that respects life and the
dignity of the human person, and a society that does not. What is the
most fundamental of all rights has become the most divisive of all
issues. Thankfully we may report some progress has been made in the
realm of promoting the sanctity of life and religious freedom. Must
work is still left to be done.

Within the issue of the sanctity of life is the issue of totalitarian
regimes. Such regimes, which can appear out of once-free societies,
threaten freedom and the dignity of the human person. History has
shown over and over that totalitarian states treat the people
commit-ted to their care not with respect and dignity, but rather as
chattel property to serve the will and the needs of the state. Rather
than people being seen as creatures of God, people become seen as
crea-tures of the state, existing under its largesse and for its
purposes alone.

The
United States of America remains under threat by many in its own
government who seek to limit religious and other freedom, and who act
constantly against the sanctity of life. The despotic history of
other countries is certainly a possibility in America. Christ,
however, is the sole source of freedom for all mankind. Only through
Christ can man be truly free. It is Christ who liberates the
oppressed and the downtrodden. It is Christ who raises up even while
totalitarian states seek to bring down the human spirit. This Lenten
season let us offer prayers and fasting, therefore, that those who
are oppressed around the world may be freed, and those who are
currently blessed with freedom may not suffer oppression.

Let
us further look to the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague for comfort that
the oppressors of the world shall not gain the victory in the end.
The Holy Infant was thrown in a pile of rubble after the Carmelite
monastery was sacked by those who did not respect the Faith. It was
seven unfortunate years before Father Cyril heard the blessed voice
of the Infant calling to him. The promise was given "If you
restore My hands unto Me, I will give you peace. The more you honor
Me, the more I will help you." The secularists of today's
society have also effectively thrown our Lord upon a trash heap. Let
us, then, re-store the hands to the Infant in our own way through our
Lenten prayer and fasting and through our good works.

Also, as we begin the Lenten season, we particularly congratulate the
Anglican Ordinariate of the Roman Communion on their continued
success, which is rapidly gaining momentum. Our prayers are with them
as they proceed in their mission of conversion for Angli-cans
earnestly seeking to be Catholic. May God continue to shine His grace
upon them and bestow His many blessings.

Lastly, we remind you all of the special mandate of this Particular
Church, viz., the mandate of mission, service, and charity. It is a
special mandate indeed, and it necessarily renders us distinct in
operation from those branches of the Church engaged primarily with
parochial work. We are not distinct, however, in overall purpose, for
we all seek to spread the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and serve
His Holy Church, the Holy Bride of Christ. We will always remain
united in spiritual work and prayer.